“Oh my gosh, there it is!” Lex shouted as she popped up out of the cabin. “I haven’t been on that island in so long. Oh, Will, I wish you could see Mr. Shelton’s home. It’s breathtaking. I haven’t seen it since I was eleven, I think. The last hurricane did some damage to it, but that thing was built to last.”
I just grinned and pulled her next to me.
Jonathon gave me a wink as he made his way over to the private dock. “That’s Kip, Mr. Shelton’s ranch hand. He’ll be taking care of y’all while I hang out here.”
Reaching out to shake Jonathon’s hand, I said, “Sounds good. Thank you so much, Jonathon.”
Lex shook his hand next and said, “Thank you so much. I’m looking forward to the trip back at night.”
“Will and Alex? I’m Kip,” he said as he helped Lex out off the yacht.
“Hello, it’s a pleasure to meet you.” Lex looked around.
Reaching out and shaking Kip’s hand, I introduced myself and said, “Thank you so much for taking the time to do all of this.”
Lex had already begun walking off down the beach. I smiled as I watched her.
“She is totally clueless, isn’t she?” Kip asked.
I rocked back and forth on my feet. I was proud of the fact that I had been able to keep this surprise from her. “Totally clueless.”
“If you want to take advantage of asking her at sunset, I suggest we head up to the house and start with dinner. My wife, Cassie, did all the decorations. Mr. Shelton is thinking of having weddings at the house, and when he saw how Cassie had done up the place for y’all, he said he was one step closer to that.” Kip had a huge smile on his face.
“Does she do party-planning?” I asked.
“Nah, she’s just a rancher’s wife stuck on an island and bored out of her mind. If Mr. Shelton did this, it would make her so happy and give her something to do.”
I let out a sigh. “So, tonight’s like a test run?”
Kip chuckled. “No pressure, but yes. I hope y’all like what Cassie has done.”
“We’re going to love it.” I looked back at Lex as she stood with her feet at the edge of the water. “Lex!” I called out.
When she looked at me, I waved for her to come back. She picked up her flip-flops and headed back over to the dock.